Drown
by Venere Veritas
Summary: After the events that took place between Team Aqua and Kyogre, Courtney is plagued with nightmares. One night she finds her leader awake, and decides to reach out for some comfort, but things don't go quite as she had hoped for.


AN- This little blurb of fiction is set in the Alpha Sapphire universe. Quite possibly the same universe as _Cyclone._

* * *

-Drown-

_It had started raining._

_Courtney and Tabitha found themselves surrounded by a horde of Aqua grunts and their Pokémon. Several Carvanha, along with a few Sealeo and Wailmer had been sent out, and although Courtney had brought both her Camerupt and Ninetails, she was beginning to feel somewhat concerned._

_The sun had been out. It had been a rather hot, cloudless day, almost irritable for Courtney in her uniform. But it had stared raining. Just as she was about to send out her Pokemon, there was a loud call across the sea, a cross between a scream and the bellowing of thunder, and then suddenly there was rain. Rain out of nowhere._

_Courtney looked up and stared at the sky, or what was left for her to see._

_Darkness. Gigantic storm clouds rolling in from nowhere, letting out loud growls of thunder, followed quickly with flashes of lightening. And although she had only looked up for a second, her face was drenched._

_Courtney felt her legs grow weak. She dropped her arm, feeling her lips curls in and her eyes burn as she heard her leader's voice echo in her mind. Her head sank, and she stared down at the ground, shocked that she could not see her own shadow._

_And it was raining. The grunts around her were cheering. Her body grew cold and wet, and she froze in place, sure of herself that this was not happening._

_Maxie could not fail._

_She felt Tabitha's gloved hand grab on to her own, pulling her away from the cheering mass of grunts. She looked up and saw how drenched her fellow administrator had become. Tabitha seemed just as surprised as she, but lacked the fear that was already taking hold of her._

_He stared at her with a hurt look. "We must flee," he said, wincing at the very last word._

_She stowed her Poké Balls away and the two of them fled the scene, Courtney barley holding in that urge to curse as the sounds of Team Aqua grunts cheering filled her mind._

_The two hurried across the City of Lilycove, getting as far as they could until Courtney could no longer hear them, but nothing changed that terrible fact that the sky had been swallowed up by black, massive storm clouds. And the rain kept going, and Courtney was positive it was getting worse._

_Far worse. She could feel her outfit grow impossibly heavy as it soaked up the large raindrops that assaulted her and Tabitha. She couldn't see straight as Tabitha continued to pull her forward, the two of them running down the streets, barely able to see a few feet ahead of them._

_It was dark. Where had the sun gone? And the rain kept coming down, and Courtney could start to make out the sounds of screams and cries of people catching on to what might be happening. The raindrops grew disturbingly larger. Nobody could see where they were going. Courtney heard cars honking._

_"Leader!" Tabitha called into his phone. "Leader, please! Please call us back as soon as you get this!"_

_Courtney's hand grew numb. She had not realized until now just how hard Tabitha's hand gripped hers. He was getting scared._

_"Come on!" Tabitha yelled. "Where's the damn signal!"_

_And it wouldn't stop raining. And now all she could hear was the constant howling of the wind, and the booms of thunder, and the only light she could see were the terrible bright flashes of lightening. Her thoughts were being drowned by the disaster taking place around her._

_Tabitha had started dragging her. He kept his cellphone at hand. She couldn't see his face, just the occasional attempt where he could try to reach their leader one more time. Even with them stopping and Tabitha trying to call, her arm was going weary._

_Tabitha raised his phone up in the air. "I think I got a signal…"_

_She looked around, her boots slipping with every other movement she made, and finally managed to utter the words, "Impossible…"_

_The winds had picked up, and the sky was littered with pieces of debris. She could make out large shapes, hopefully not people or Pokémon, soaring across the skies and being pulled into the direction of the ocean._

_"Curses! It's lost!" she heard Tabitha call._

_She stood in place and looked around at the few others that remained outside. Tabitha held on to her, pulling her away from the direction of the cliffs, but Courtney held her ground, squinting her eyes and making out the shivering forms with their shaky legs and looks of confusion and despair: they wore the bandana's and stripped shirts, and each one of them looked equally miserable._

_She shook her head in disbelief. "Aqua…"_

_"Courtney, we must find shelter immediately!"_

_"Pitiful…"_

_Another flash of lightening. Tabitha let go of her, yelping in fear, and Courtney slipped and fell down, landing roughly on the wet concrete._

_There were Aqua grunts everywhere. Many of them ran past her and Tabitha, into the direction of the cliffs, stopping and staring in disbelief at the weather. Bandanas flew up into the air. Boys holding on to the girls, girls consoling the boys, some shivering and holding on to themselves, their Carvanha, others crying out, lashing out, pointing fingers, calling for their administrators, their leader, anybody…_

_"C-Courtney!" She felt Tabitha drop down and grab on to her._

_She stared out into the sea and saw something twisting and turning, collecting water and growing higher, reaching up into the black sky. She had seen some dragon Pokémon performs such acts, but never had seen a gigantic twister form naturally. It raged across the ocean, movement rigid and unpredictable, but she was sure it was heading this way. Her mouth opened, jaw dropping down as she raised her arm and pointed out to it._

_"M-maelst–" She felt her throat tighten._

_Tabitha's body shook as he struggled to carry her up. "Find the strength to get up!" he pleaded. "Courtney, think of what our leader would want!"_

_Maxie assured this would not happen. He had looked her in the eyes and promised that he would stop that madman from bringing about an end to humanity._

_"Ma…ma…"_

_It was so cold. Her body was getting numb from the hard smacks of blistering drops continuously raining down on her and Tabitha. She could make out brief seconds of warmth roll down her cheeks, tears stinging her face as she stared out into the ocean, watching impossibly large waves crash and begin to cover up the pebble beaches of the Lilycove City._

_"Maxie…"_

_Where was he?_

* * *

Courtney opened her eyes and stared at an empty wall. She was back in her plain room, back inside of Team Magma's lair. She was safe again.

Courtney removed her covers and sat herself up. She was sweating. She blinked and rested a hand on her chest, counting her heart rate.

Another bad dream. The third one in three nights. Consecutive. Repetitive. Frightening.

Courtney wiped her face, not shocked to see that she had brought herself to tears. This time she had not cried out. This time she had not awoken tangled in the sheets, screaming for her leader to save her from drowning.

She still felt drained. Fatigued. Exhausted.

And she could not bring herself to rest and attempt to fall asleep.

Courtney looked over at her clock and saw it was nearing four. She would be expected to be awake by six, and in uniform and prepared for work by seven. It would be a waste of effort to try to sleep again.

A decision was made. She pulled herself out of bed and checked her sheets, then herself, making personal note of the moisture, her aching body, and her heavy mind. She made up her bed, pulled out her uniform and left it on top, and then dressed herself up in regular clothing. She had thought about putting on the uniform now, but her weary legs could not afford to be reminded of the weight of the boots and how helpless they had made her feel four days ago.

She wandered the halls in slippers and sweats. Her destination was to get to the kitchen and rehydrate with some water, but after a few minutes of thinking it over, she wondered if she was in the mood to be around that particular liquid.

Courtney walked past the lounge, but caught the sound of frantic typing, and stopped herself from continuing. She brought her head into the room and caught the shadowed figure of her leader sitting in one of the couches, doing some work.

Maxie sometimes deprived himself of proper rest. It had been a common habit of his, especially during the last few weeks, with Team Aqua having made most of their progression.

But it surprised her to see him still at work. After that girl had saved Hoenn, and after Maxie and that estranged man had agreed to arrange some kind of settlement, Courtney had expected that Maxie would finally take to resting.

She took a few small steps into the room, her lidded stare resting on her leaders. With every step she noticed something small and off about him. His hair was not kept in its usual neat order. His typing would be speedy, and then pause, and then he would bring a hand up to cover his eyes, as though the screen were causing him some pain to stare into. He was sighing out his exhales. Like her, Maxie was not dressed in his uniform, which was strange since he took great pride in Team Magma and in his dress, and instead was donning rather plain civilian clothing like her.

He stopped typing. She stopped moving.

Maxie picked up his laptop and placed it on the table in front of him, closing the top with some extra gentleness in his movement, and then scooted the device up a few inches. He sat upright and in silence, stopping himself from crossing his arms and appearing anything less than welcoming in Courtney's eyes. He finally brought his gaze up, letting his weary red eyes rest on her. Courtney did her best to come into attention, a reflex that occurred whenever her leader let his stare linger for more than a second, but the moment she tried to bring her arm up she heard him chuckle, and when she looked down at him he was smiling sadly at her, shaking his head.

"Sir?" she asked.

Team Magma's leader leaned forward, resting an elbow on his leg, covering the top of his face with his large, pale hand. Courtney counted the strands of red hair that was out of place, and felt a gut wrenching sensation begin to develop.

"How presumptuous of me," she heard him begin, "I assumed you'd be fine tonight…" He paused. "...this morning," Maxie corrected himself.

Courtney brought her hands together. "I don't understand," she admitted, shaking her head. "Leader…please explain?"

He peered up at her through the gaps between his fingers. "You had another nightmare," he said to her, letting his bottom lip remain lowered as she pulled hers in, slowly beginning herself to give a single nod of the head.

"Ah…I'm right," he added, letting the sad smile reform across his face. "Finally, I'm right about something…" He lifted his head up and corrected his posture. Maxie stared at his laptop, and then back at Courtney.

"Do you need me to get you anything?" he asked her.

Courtney could make out the exhaustion in his voice, the pain in his eyes, and the lines that stretched across his face that had developed from long nights of her and several other Magma members that had been there during the storm, waking up and crying for relief.

She stared at the tired man and shook her head, and instead took a few steps over to him, stopping and looking down at his gaunt form, barely lifting a few fingers to gesture him to move to one side of the furniture. Maxie picked himself up and moved to one side, letting her take the other, and she sank into the seat, staring out into the dark lounge room.

She murmured. "Four days…"

"Yes," Maxie agreed. "And in three more we'll be meeting Team Aqua in Lilycove to arrange a few things."

She turned and stared worryingly at her leader. An actual, physical meeting? "You're… going back to him?" she asked.

"We're all going back," Maxie gently corrected her.

Courtney wasn't sure how to feel about this. She went back to staring at the walls, letting tired legs stretch out and her slippers touch the legs of the table.

She produced a small pout. "You didn't come…"

"What's that?" she heard Maxie ask.

"This time…" Courtney muttered. "There were…maelstroms…"

"I apologies for not being there," Maxie said. She stared down at the floor, at her sweatpants and his slacks, at her slippers and his bare feet, and how stretched out her legs were, and how tucked in his were.

"You were sound asleep last I checked," she heard him add. "And after checking on the others," Maxie continued, and Courtney couldn't help but think about how long that must have taken, "I assumed that everyone was finally sound asleep."

Courtney closed her eyes and brought her hands into her chest. She wished things would return back to normal. She didn't like the feeling of being overwhelmed. Courtney hated to feel helpless. She hated what she was becoming, and she hated what it was doing to Maxie.

"This meeting…" she began, feeling her heart rate increase a few beats as she listened to Maxie move up to her. "After we...help them…"

"Yes?"

"Will things…" she felt her face burn with some embarrassment. She was second in command to a peacekeeping organization. So much was on her shoulders, and so much on Tabitha's. Even more on Maxie's. He had already spent so may hours trying to mend the emotional wounds of their younger members. It was not reasonable for her to be consoling in her boss like this.

"Will everything…return to normal?" she finally finished, looking down and feeling her teeth pull in and bite down on her bottom lip.

"Normal?" Maxie almost sounded astounded by her choice of word.

Courtney looked down at her legs, watching her hands tremble and grip on to the loose fabric of her clothes. She kept her face straight, letting the small amount of blush be the only indicator that something more was bothering her, waiting for her leader to give his answer and finally bring her back into a temporary calm. She waited, anticipating his advice and wisdom, eager to let it help guide her for the rest of the day, until she would have the misfortune to fall asleep again.

She felt a cool hand rest on her shoulder. Courtney did not react, a little surprised that his answer came first in the shape of physical affection. But it was the grabbing and him pulling her into an embrace that shocked her most, leaving her almost without breath as her eyes went wide, and her chest immediately beginning to ache from the warmth of his body pressed against her own.

And she continued to stare out, eyes wide, lips quivering.

"I'm so sorry," she heard Maxie begin. Courtney lifted her head up and stared at her leader's tired face, feeling her own heart sink as the word suddenly hit her.

"…Leader Maxie?"

"Things can never return to the way they once were," Maxie continued, looking down at her. "We can never go back to the beginning. Not now. Not after everything…"

And she continued to stare up at him; eyes open wider, lips quivering some more, her heart hurting, and her mind reeling.

"There can be no fixing old wounds," Maxie continued, wiping his administrator's face of falling tears. "I'm sorry, Courtney, but our nightmares will always remain. They will diminish over time, but that fear of being consumed by the waves, of the guilt built up from several years of ignorance…they shall always remain a part of us."

They were painfully honest words. The latter half of what he had said left Courtney depressed. She rested her head against his shoulder, wondering how many nights before the storm had left Maxie awake at night. How many nights did he spend waiting and planning for this event, and how far back into the past did they begin to manifest. When did the fear begin to consume him?

She stared out into the dark room, remembering the rain. "Then the meeting…?"

"Will assure that more of us will be able to rest easier at night," Maxie replied. His thumb rubbed against her cheek, wiping last tear running down her face. "And I know you will have the strength to be there and represent our group." Courtney felt him removed himself from her. "And you and I will be there to support those weaker than us…"

She wrapped her arms around Maxie's gaunt body. He was surprised by this, but she didn't let go, and he didn't seem to mind the embrace. Her face burned some more as she began to try and deconstruct everything he had said to her. She couldn't bring herself to think that things might never return to normal. It had been so easy to believe that her leader could change the world for the better, and he was just one man. One brilliant man. But the thought that another man could ruin it all, and in the span of a few hours…

And now everyone was left suffering in the middle of the night.

"Maxie?" she called.

"Yes, Courtney?"

She buried her face into Maxie's sweater, feeling ashamed at her own tears. Her eyes were shut, and her mouth hurting to keep closed, and her beating hard at all the cherished memories she had created since she had joined the group. And she felt angry for feeling so sad, and desperate for letting some other emotions run wild in her mind, but then there was the pain and knowledge that Maxie was right, again, and that him not being there when she needed him most of all was not a mistake on either of their parts, but a sign that things had been changing, and that they were still in the process of shifting towards something she could not comprehend.

"I'm frightened," she whispered into his chest.

"That's alright, Courtney," Maxie reassured her, rubbing her head with his hand, his fingers massaging her aching scalp.

Her lips pursed together as the image of his weariness came back into her tired mind.

"…Leader Maxie?" she called up to him again, this time referring to him properly, although the question in her heart made her wish she hadn't.

"Yes?" he replied back, staring down at her.

"…who will watch over you?"

The silence between the two of them was far worse than the constant roaring of dark clouds drowning all the light, sound, and peace of mind.


End file.
